Blood Brothers Chapter 12
Pairing: KyuTeukChul (yeah, you read that correctly), one-sided HanChul, YeWook, EunHae, perhaps other pairings in the future. The story also focuses on the bond between Heechul, Zhou Mi, and Hankyung as blood brothers.
Rating: M for violence and mature scenes
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, suspense, romance, thriller
Disclaimer: fanfiction…speaks for itself. As much as I would love to own them, owning a human being is kind of morally and ethically wrong, so let’s not go there.
Summary: Revenge is a bittersweet fruit. Once you have taken a bite, the taste never leaves. It lingers in the throat, under the tongue, on every taste bud. Kim Heechul became used to the taste long ago.
Notes: Happiness ends in this chapter…
Chapter 11 ---- Chapter 13 (Final!)
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Chapter 12
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“I think…I think I want to marry her, Kyu.” Jungsu finally murmured.
Kyuhyun’s hands stilled on the controller in his hands. “You…what?” he croaked out. Kyuhyun had not gone to Leeteuk’s house to listen to him talk about his love for his Chinese golddigger. No, Kyuhyun had come over to completely own Leeteuk’s ass at Call of Duty to make himself feeling better after his failed raid on Starcraft the night before.
He didn’t need to listen to this, mostly because whenever Leeteuk talked about that woman he zoned out, and it was a sin to zone out during a game of Call of Duty…like he was doing now.
“Marry her. Xi Che. I really think I love her.” Jungsu turned from where he leaned against the headboard of the bed. “I want you to meet her. You’d really like her, Kyu. I know you would.”
“Che.” Kyuhyun scoffed, resuming his game. “I doubt it.” How could he like someone rich, stuck up, and who most importantly distracted Leeteuk from gaming? Someone like that deserved to go to hell.
“I’ve started looking at rings.”
Kyuhyun lost the game.
He dropped the controller, staring at Leeteuk in shocked horror and disbelief. “You’ve got to be joking. You can’t be that serious about her.” Cowardly, indecisive Leeteuk wanted to propose to a girl that Kyuhyun had never even met?
It made him a little annoyed that his best friend wanted to get married. That would break up their friendship, wouldn’t it? The girl would take up all of Leeteuk’s time. This was different than just casual dating. This was a lifetime commitment.
Lifetime commitments…were something that Kyuhyun didn’t understand. Hell, he’d been scared shitless when he’d told Hee-Sook he loved her. Deep inside he was still worrying over the whole thing because even if Hee-Sook hadn’t dumped him-she’d kissed him back and they’d gone to lunch afterwards so he assumed that meant she wanted to continue dating him-she hadn’t said “I love you” back. That worried Kyuhyun, but not as much as Leeteuk wanting to get married.
He wanted…to give up his friendship for a girl? Because to Kyuhyun there were bros and there were hoes and you had to choose one over the other-Hee-Sook didn’t count, obviously, she was his girlfriend after all-and if Leeteuk chose his Chinese golddigger…
“My parents approve of her. Kangin approves of her. I love her.” Leeteuk paused, “I just need you to approve too.”
Kyuhyun didn’t say anything for a long while. He didn’t want to hurt Leeteuk. He knew his hyung was in love. He’d seen how dreamy and distracted he got, how he waited for her phone calls anxiously as if the world would end without hearing her voice at least once a day.
And if Kyuhyun approved of her, Leeteuk would approve of Hee-Sook right? And he would need an ally besides Sungmin if he was going to win his father’s acceptance.
“I’ll meet her and see.” Kyuhyun finally relented, before standing. “I have to go. Hee-Sook is waiting.”
“Fish girl?”
“Yeah.”
“I want to meet her.” Jungsu grinned. “She must really be something.”
The smile had appeared before Kyuhyun could stop it. “OK. I’ll talk to her about it.”
---
He’d been home for two weeks now.
Hangeng closed his eyes and leaned heavily against the kitchen table. He heard a meow and a yowl and sighed, lifting his head up to look at the scene unfolding in the living room. Champagne had attacked Heebum again and Heebum wasn’t going to take it. He’d attacked the female cat with a sharp bat to the face and the two were now hissing and scratching their way across the rug.
This was the reason that Champagne lived with Mama Han and Heebum lived at the apartment with Heechul and the others. The two cats simply refused to get along. Hangeng was ready to go in and stop the fight-and probably lose a limb in the line of duty-when he heard a sharp bark and then silence.
Rrongrrong had joined the fray and quieted Heebum down, probably by sitting on him and licking his ears. A second later Champagne slinked into the kitchen and began rubbing against Hangeng’s leg. Hangeng reached down and lazily scratched the cat’s back, wondering how much longer the two high-strung cats would be able to survive around one another.
Hangeng would have taken Heebum back to the apartment and stayed there with him but he was hoping to soon be able to head back to Korea and that meant he wouldn’t be able to make sure Heebum was taken care of. At least under the watchful eye of Mama Han the two cats were forced to cooperate with one another.
He didn't know how much longer HE was going to survive either. Waiting and resting made him feel useless, especially when he got constant updates from Zhou Mi and Henry that told him that the plan was going on without him. The world hadn't stopped turning when Hangeng had been diagnosed with gastritis. Instead, Hangeng felt like time was moving far too quickly for his tastes. What if the entire revenge was finished before he recovered? No, no it wouldn't be.
He was needed. Heechul needed him. It wouldn't happen.
That was when his phone rang. He hurriedly pulled it out of his pocket and looked expectantly to the caller ID and frowned a bit when he realized that it wasn’t Heechul. Then again, what had he expected? He flipped the phone open, “Zhou Mi?”
“Hangeng.” The man affirmed on the other end, and there was an edge to his voice.
“How is everything going?” Hangeng asked, brow furrowing in worry. He sat up off of the table and leaned against the back of the chair. Was something wrong with Heechul? Had they been discovered?
“…he’s attached, Hangeng ge. I think Xi Che ge has fallen for them.”
Hangeng’s hand tightened on his phone. “Wh-what?” He managed to get out, feeling his chest constrict painfully.
“It isn’t just for revenge anymore.” Zhou Mi sounded panicked on the other end. “I don’t know what to do. Hangeng ge, what do we do if Xi Che ge stops his revenge?”
Hangeng had wanted that from the beginning, hadn’t he? Had wanted Heechul to stop his quest for revenge and live a normal life in China. But this was not what Hangeng wanted. Because if Heechul were in love with Cho Kyuhyun and Park Jungsu, that meant he would not return to China.
He would not return to him.
And Hangeng would not allow those two, the sons of people who had ruined Heechul’s life and caused him so much pain, be allowed to be happy. “Don’t worry.” He swallowed, speaking in what he hoped was a calming tone. “Heechul would never give up his revenge. Ever. Even for love.”
“But…”
“I’ll call him tonight, alright?” Hangeng had stood, and was heading into his bedroom. He opened the closet and pulled out a suitcase. “Keep him away from them for now.”
“Alright.” Zhou Mi murmured, “Henry and I will try. But Hangeng ge…what if we take revenge on Yumyeong and leave Xi Che ge out of it? Wouldn’t that be better?”
They would be the enemies instead of him. What Hangeng had wanted all along. Hangeng swallowed, “That…if Heechul begins to waver, that’s what we’ll do. I have to go.” He hung up and began dialing another number as he pulled clothing out of his closet.
“I need a ticket to Seoul at the soonest convenience. Is there a flight leaving tonight?”
He couldn’t let Heechul fall in love and forget what he’d gone back to Korea for.
He’d fix this.
---
“Ya! You’ll lose, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Not in a million years!”
Heechul scoffed, lying out fully on the large bed in Kyuhyun’s bedroom, staring at the widescreen TV on the opposite wall. “You don’t have the abilities to defeat someone of my gaming prowess, Kyuhyunnie.”
“You may be my girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let that insult go!” Kyuhyun yelled out, fingers moving at amazing speeds over his controller. “Your attempts at victory are futile.”
Heechul laughed, sitting up and managing to get a hit on Kyuhyun. “Take that! What was that about the futility of my victory?”
“Lucky shot.” Kyuhyun shot back, “It won’t happen again.”
“Che.” Heechul snorted, and there was a moment of silence between the two, broken only by the explosions and gunfire coming from the TV. He blinked, before a grin spread across his face, “HA! Did you see that-ACK!” Heechul felt himself fall backwards as Kyuhyun tackled him on the bed.
“I refuse to admit defeat!” Kyuhyun laughed, but Heechul quickly reversed their situations, sitting atop the younger male with a cocky grin. He leaned down, long hair brushing the tip of Kyuhyun’s nose.
“Resistance is futile.”
Kyuhyun shot forward and pecked Heechul on the lips, catching him offguard as the younger boy took the opportunity to attack. Soon the two were rolling around the spacious bed. The sound of laughter drifted through the halls and outside Sungmin only smiled to himself, skimming his magazine.
Kyuhyun let out a loud laugh as Heechul began tickling his stomach before Heechul paused. Kyuhyun was able to breathe again and wondered what had caused Hee-Sook to stop. He looked down and saw where Hee-Sook was looking.
He quickly sat up, pulling down his shirt. “I…” He drifted into awkward silence, unsure of what to say. He’d never shown anyone his scars, and he hadn’t meant for Hee-Sook to see them, of all people. The scar wrapping around his side was only one of many he’d gotten from the accident. They were the reason he didn’t wear shirts that showed off his back or arms, or swim in only his swim trunks. His back was riddled with scars, ugly deformities that had ruined his life.
He swallowed.
What would Hee-Sook think? A small jolt of panic rocked him. Hee-Sook still had yet to tell him that she loved him. Maybe she didn’t care about him at all. Maybe she would use this as an excuse to dump him. Maybe she would be like everyone else.
Heechul sat back on the bed and watched Kyuhyun drift off into his own little world of self loathing and panic. He could see the emotions playing out over Kyuhyun’s face. He knew where the scars had come from, of course. The car accident had been in the files he’d read.
Kyuhyun had been in a coma. He almost hadn’t made it.
For some reason, the sight of Kyuhyun staring at him so helplessly made him feel sick. What was he supposed to do? What could be said to make him feel better? Nothing. Saying, “there’s nothing wrong with you” would probably make Kyuhyun angry. He would get defensive. Pretending he hadn’t seen the scars would make it look like he was disgusted with them, and that would only hurt Kyuhyun-and why did he suddenly care about hurting him?
The silence continued to grow, as did the anxiety in Kyuhyun’s gaze.
“…I have scars too.” Heechul whispered, and he wondered why he was saying this. Why he was telling Cho Kyuhyun, of all people, about something he kept so private. About something that had been caused by Kyuhyun’s father.
“What?”
That’s right, because those eyes had made him speak unconsciously. He’d felt the need to comfort and protect someone he was destined to break and destroy. The irony wasn’t lost on him and if he weren’t staring Kyuhyun down he would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. But laughter would only confuse Kyuhyun more.
Heechul felt himself reaching for the edge of his pants, rolling up the side of one leg. As the skin was revealed he saw the scar begin to unveil itself before him, a scar that reminded him of his past-of the cruelties that Cho Kyuhyun’s fathers had committed-and for some reason, he felt an odd peace in finally revealing these scars to someone other than his blood brothers.
His fingers paused as he suddenly realized that this was an act of trust. He’d just shown Kyuhyun something that he would never show to someone he didn’t love trust. Unconsciously he realized that he would have showed Leeteuk as well, would have extended this trust if the situation had presented itself.
It scared him, as he stared down at the scars covering his leg and the silence continued. He wondered if maybe he’d done the wrong thing. Perhaps Kyuhyun would find the scars distasteful for a woman-Kyuhyun was tracing the scar with his fingers, hands trembling as they skimmed the raised flesh.
It looked painful.
What kind of horrendous thing could have caused these scars? Kyuhyun was mesmerized by them. He couldn’t look away, as he trailed them up to Hee-Sook’s knee. He knew the scars continued up past the edge of her rolled up pants, but he ventured no further.
This was enough.
“I got them in a car accident when I was young.” Heechul swallowed, ignoring the tears, forcing them at bay. He wouldn’t cry here, not in front of his son’s enemy, not when he’d been the one to bring it up in the first place.
But he could feel the pain and hear the screams all over again. He was calling for his mother. Heebum was mewling pitifully and he was trying to crawl to the car even as he screamed at the white hot pain engulfing his legs. He could smell the smoke and gasoline and hear the sirens and shouts in Chinese-god he’d hated the language then-and he didn’t realize that tears were rolling down his cheeks until Kyuhyun began wiping them away.
He blinked, taken aback and surprised at himself. He wasn’t supposed to show his emotions in front of Kyuhyun and Leeteuk. This was impossible. Why was he crying-why had he showed him?
Kyuhyun was holding him.
Heechul cried, and it felt like an eternity before he pulled away, wiping the last remnants of his tears from his face.
Finally, Kyuhyun leaned back, “Do you…want to see them…?”
Heechul saw the uncertainty flickering in Kyuhyun’s gaze but he nodded slowly. Kyuhyun reached for the edges of his shirt and pulled up. As he took the shirt off, Heechul looked down at the scars marring his back. Angry white lines that seemed to have dug into him, painting his back with stripes and criss-crosses that looked as painful as they must have felt.
And as Heechul slowly traced a large scar across Kyuhyun’s spine he felt the younger boy shiver, letting out a tear-filled sigh…and he knew. This was the last step. He had Kyuhyun’s love and complete trust.
It was time to destroy him.
For some reason, Heechul’s chest ached at the thought.
---
Heechul stared out past the dashboard at the ocean below, his gaze half-lidded. The light was fading fast, a mere streak of crimson against a patchwork of blue and purple. Heechul merely closed his eyes and didn’t move.
He’d left Kyuhyun’s home a few hours earlier and had simply gotten in the car and drove. He didn’t know where he was going until he stopped and found himself at the beach where he and Leeteuk had spent the night on the sand.
He felt his entire body tremble and he let out a shaky breath. The sound of his phone vibrating against the dashboard jolted him out of his stupor and he sat up quickly, staring at the name scrolling across the screen. Leeteuk. Heechul leaned back again, closing his eyes once more as he listened to the sound of the phone rattling against the dash.
He swallowed, and he found that it was difficult to do. His throat constricted and tightened and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. In the next second he was letting out a soft sob, as if the dams within him had broken and he found himself crying for the second time that day. Why? Why was this happening to him?
He wasn’t supposed to care.
This wasn’t supposed to have happened.
This was revenge.
He was supposed to feel good.
He couldn’t let himself falter. Not now, not when he’d worked so long and so hard for this.
Heechul clenched his eyes shut, feeling the last few tears slipping from beneath his eyelids and trailing down his cheeks. He swallowed again to wet his throat and remembered…because remembering was the only way to continue fueling his hatred.
He saw his mother’s casket being lowered into the ground-he’d sold his father’s watch to pay for the funeral arrangements (a watch he’d later ripped off of a mafia boss’ cold, dead hand). He heard the sounds of the people shuffling uncomfortably behind him. He felt the unwavering anger and shame at the disgrace of being buried here with no one to know who she was, no one to care. No family, no friends, no fanfare for a woman who loved to put on a good show.
Just soft, uncomfortable whispers and the sound of rain pelting the umbrella that Hangeng held over his head.
He saw his father falling to the ground. He heard his mother’s scream. He felt the wet, metallic warmth of his father’s blood splattering across his own face. He saw Director Park and Director Cho staring down at his father’s body, triumph and greed glittering in their eyes.
He remembered the pain shooting through his legs as he screamed for help with the only Chinese words he knew. He remembered begging for the fireman who carried him to get his cat out of the car, to save Heebum. It was the first time he’d ever spoken so much Chinese.
He remembered the flames and the smoke and the sirens…and the emptiness and knowledge that he was now alone.
He remembered the sight of his mother’s pale, limp hand hanging out the side of the car window, slick with blood. He could see the steady stream that trickled from her fingertips, collecting in a puddle of blood and gasoline beneath the car.
He would never forget.
He could not allow himself to forget that hatred…not even for Cho Kyuhyun and Park Jungsu. Because in the end…this was his revenge.
And they were just pawns, weren’t they?
“…yeah…that’s right…” Heechul laughed coldly, eyes opening to reveal a frigid, hard gaze. “…this is just business…”
He reached out and grabbed his cell phone, dialing a number.
“Xi Che ge? Where are you? I’ve spent the entire day at Yumyeong and no one knows where you are. Park Jungsu came by to ask if you were sick because you weren’t answering your phone-”
Heechul cut off Zhou Mi’s frantic ramblings with two simple words. Words that were followed by a heavy, dangerous silence.
“It’s time.”
---
Donghae unlocked the door to the apartment and poked his head inside, “Hello? Anyone home? I brought some beignets from the café!” His brow furrowed a bit when he was met with silence. Of course when no one had answered the door he should have realized that no one would be home.
He simply opened the door and closed it behind him, balancing the carrier for the coffees in one hand and the paper bag holding the beignets in the other. He headed for the open bar that separated the kitchen and living room and placed the two items atop it.
He began pulling the coffees out of the carrier, “Aish if they don’t come back soon then the coffee will get cold…and I made hyung’s favorite, too!” He hadn’t known Hangeng’s, Zhou Mi’s, or Henry’s favorites, so he’d simply gotten them the coffee he felt fit each of them best and hoped they liked it.
He wondered if he should stick the coffees in the microwave to help hold in the heat and headed for the appliance when an odd sound grated his ears. He paused. Was that…a meow?
“But Heebummie is in China, isn’t he?” He thought aloud, but the sound repeated itself. He frowned, placing the coffees back on the counter and heading for the source of the sound. He found himself standing in front of the bedroom and paused.
He felt awkward going into his hyung’s room without permission. This was hyung’s private place. He took a step back before the meow came from behind the door and he breathed in deeply. He would simply have to tell his hyung he was sorry for invading his privacy later.
He opened the door and blinked.
There was a cat lying on Heechul’s bed.
“IT’S A LEOPARD!” He yelled and slammed the door shut. A second later he opened it again and peered at the small cat that was staring at him boredly as if to say, Are you stupid or something? It was a kitten, barely bigger than his hand.
A baby leopard? But certainly they were bigger, weren’t they? He inched around the bed warily, eyeing the cat. “I know all about leopards, you know. You were sent by the aliens to monitor us. The markings on your back are a code, that’s why you all look different. I’m on to you and the zebras…I know what you’re doing.” Donghae glared at the little kitten, “So don’t try and fool me like you’re trying to fool hyung. That’s why he should have been a fish person. Fish are incapable of being aliens-except for jellyfish and octopodes. Yeah, I know about them too so there’s no place you can hide! Ha!”
Then he blinked, “Wait…now you know that I know.” He looked around furtively. “You’re going to try and abduct me before I can tell everyone else about you, aren’t you?”
The cat meowed.
And then an odd sound began in the room adjacent to the bedroom and Donghae leapt backwards, diving behind the bed, “The aliens!”
He blinked when there was no blinding light or ray guns or odd alien languages being spoken. He looked up over the bed-the kitten was looking at him like he was crazy-and saw the open door to the room attached to the bedroom. A light was blinking on and off on a machine that was visible from the doorway.
He scrambled to his feet and headed inside.
It was a fax machine. The address from where it came from said ‘unknown’ and Donghae frowned before he glanced down at what was being sent over. He froze at the sight. It was a picture of Director Park and Director Cho of Yumyeong Industries. It was a newspaper article talking about the company. The two were smiling for the camera and shaking hands with someone else, most likely sealing a business deal.
“What are you doing?”
Donghae whirled around to see Henry standing in the doorway, looking angry-and afraid? Donghe ignored it. Henry couldn’t possible be angrier than Donghae was right now. He grabbed the paper and it was crinkling in his fist, threatening to tear. “Why…is this here…?”
Henry wasn’t certain what to say. He’d come home from rehearsal to find the door unlocked. He’d seen the coffee and the café box on the counter and had assumed it was someone he knew-after all, what kind of killer would bring his victims coffee and donuts before he took them out? He’d headed to the bedroom only to find Donghae standing at the fax machine, white as a ghost.
Henry didn’t know what to do now. Donghae wasn’t supposed to know, right? Dammit, why was this boy always stumbling in and making problems!? What if he told someone? What if he endangered Xi Che gege? What if-
“Why is there a picture of these two here? How could you have something like this in front of hyung!?” Donghae yelled out, crumpling the paper into a ball and throwing it. “Ya! Do you know what they did to him? Do you have any idea what kind of pain they caused him? How could you remind him of that?”
Henry was taken aback. How did Donghae know about these people and what they’d done to his gege? He’d also never seen the older boy look so angry. No matter what Henry had ever said or done to him during their meetings, he’d never so much as frowned. Now he was trembling with fury.
“You…know about them?”
“I knew hyung before you did! I knew what they did to him.” Donghae whispered, “They’re the reason hyung had to go to China. They ruined his life. How could you show this to him? You have to get rid of it now before hyung sees it!” Donghae had reached down to grab the crumpled paper, “If hyung sees this he’ll be sad.”
Henry stared at the older man and suddenly he couldn’t help the small smile that tilted his lips. This man…really loved his gege didn’t he? He could see the affection and devotion now and oddly, he was happy that somewhere in Korea there was someone that had loved his Xi Che gege all along. Who understood.
Perhaps better than he did.
Henry swallowed. “…I don’t know…if I’m allowed to tell you.” He finally whispered.
“What-”
“Hyung.” Henry addressed the older boy, and the term rolled off of his tongue awkwardly, “Hyung…I think that Zhou Mi gege will be better. Will you…wait with me until he comes back?”
---
Choi Siwon walked into the church with a soft sigh, hands trembling softly. He’d just come off a long shift and the last man he’d worked on hadn’t made it. In his mind he went over everything he’d done, knew that it was a lost cause the moment they’d put the man on his surgery table and his spleen ruptured. But the fact that the man’s death was inevitable didn’t make it any easier for Siwon to accept.
It wasn’t his first death and he knew it wouldn’t be his last, but he doubted he’d ever be able to be clean and professional and detached to it.
So he’d come to the church to speak with the Father, what he did any time he was troubled. He figured after this he would call Leeteuk or Kyuhyun and ask if they wanted to hang out-do something anything to keep himself busy so he wouldn’t think about it.
He slipped into the confessional and sat down, taking a deep breath. He straightened out his jacket and leaned back wearily.
“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned-”
“Your father is a bigger sinner than you are, how can he grant you forgiveness?”
Siwon blinked, not recognizing the voice coming from the other side of the screen. It was not the Father. He tried to peer through the screen but he couldn’t see anything. “Father?”
“Your father was the one who pronounced my father dead.”
Siwon blinked. What was going on? “Who are you?” He demanded angrily, worriedly. Who was on the other side of the screen? Had they done something to the Father?
“Working for Yumyeong to cover up a crime…how did that feel? Do you remember your father’s face that night? He killed himself afterwards, didn’t he? He couldn’t handle the guilt of covering up the murder of an innocent man.”
Siwon had stood by now, pale with fury and-fear? He charged out of the confessional and threw open the door to the priest’s side, eyes wide and breathing heavy.
It was empty, save for a microphone sitting where a person should be.
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(A/N: Happy Birthday Teukie!!! Yeah...not a very good birthday present...XD)